December 2018 Rochester Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Rochester Rent Report. Rochester rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Rochester rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

December 2018 Rochester Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Rochester Rent Report. Rochester rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Rochester rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

Rochester rents decline sharply over the past month

Rochester rents have declined 0.6% over the past month, and are down moderately by 1.6% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Rochester stand at $990 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,290 for a two-bedroom. This is the third straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in August. Rochester's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.0%, as well as the national average of 1.3%.

Rents rising across the Detroit Metro

While rent prices have decreased in Rochester over the past year, the rest of the metro is seeing the opposite trend. Rents have risen in all of the largest 10 cities in the Detroit metro for which we have data. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.

Dearborn has the most expensive rents in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,330; the city has also seen rent growth of 3.2% over the past year, the fastest in the metro.

Taylor has the least expensive rents in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $890; rents increased 0.6% over the past month but remained flat year-over-year.

Rochester rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

As rents have fallen moderately in Rochester, many large cities nationwide have seen prices increase, in some cases substantially. Rochester is also more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Other cities across the state have seen rents marginally increase, with Michigan as a whole logging rent growth of 1.0% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.2% in Lansing and 1.0% in Grand Rapids.

Rochester's median two-bedroom rent of $1,290 is above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.3% over the past year compared to the 1.6% decline in Rochester.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Rochester than most large cities. For example, Chicago has a median 2BR rent of $1,270, which is undefined the price in Rochester.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Detroit

$690

$890

0.2%

1.1%

Warren

$780

$1,020

0.8%

3.0%

Sterling Heights

$830

$1,080

0.5%

2.1%

Dearborn

$1,020

$1,330

0.5%

3.2%

Livonia

$940

$1,220

0.1%

3.1%

Westland

$740

$970

0.3%

1.6%

Troy

$1,020

$1,330

0.1%

1.7%

Southfield

$900

$1,180

0.3%

1.8%

Taylor

$680

$890

0.6%

0.0%

Pontiac

$730

$940

-0.1%

1.1%

Royal Oak

$830

$1,080

0.2%

0.6%

Southgate

$780

$1,020

0.7%

1.5%

Oak Park

$970

$1,260

0.1%

0.2%

Auburn Hills

$920

$1,200

-0.4%

-1.0%

Rochester

$990

$1,290

-0.6%

-1.6%

Howell

$910

$1,190

0.7%

4.5%

Northville

$1,210

$1,510

4.6%

Belleville

$850

$1,080

0.2%

2.7%

Clinton

$720

$870

-0.4%

0.7%

See more

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.